


Dumbledore's strays find common ground

by rubicon49



Series: Snagrid Drabbles [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Coming Out, How Do I Tag, LITERALLY, M/M, Pre-Slash, Rare Pairings, Screaming Kettle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:14:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23503681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubicon49/pseuds/rubicon49
Summary: Snape and Hagrid discuss an interesting episode in Hagrid’s history. Revelations are made and cauldrons are scrubbed.
Relationships: Rubeus Hagrid & Severus Snape
Series: Snagrid Drabbles [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1582210
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	Dumbledore's strays find common ground

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my fic! (or at least the beginning notes!) I hope you and those you care about have all been well. 
> 
> This would take place at the beginning of October in 1998.

Severus allowed himself to sink back into his chair. He watched Hagrid busy himself in his small kitchen, filling a kettle with water and grabbing some milk and sugar. He noted with a slight frown the tension Hagrid carried in his back. His frown deepened when Hagrid’s eyes met his as he brought the kettle over to the stove and his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

Hagrid looked away quickly to avoid Severus’s searching gaze. Even when Severus wasn’t using legilmancy he had a way of making a person feel like he was prying open their skull in order to examine its contents. He hung the kettle on a hook over the stove and settled back into his chair, decidedly not-paying-attention-to-Severus and focusing on the fire instead.

Severus sighed and dragged a hand over his now tired eyes. “How is Thelma?” 

Hagrid perked up at mention of his dwarf winged pig, “I think she’s decided ter winter ‘ere. There’s no hope o’ her catchin’ up with her flock now, so it’s prob’ly fer the best.” 

“The salve worked?”

“Yeah, healed her right up.” Hagrid said with a smile.

Severus just nodded and looked down into his empty cup. He had been curious to see if it would work. Rich wizards had never thought much of creating veterinary potions for non-familiar animals, so the only potion he could find was an old farmers salve for ordinary winged pigs. He had adjusted it for the smaller and more magically potent Thelma hoping it would work. 

The kettle screamed and both men jumped causing Severus to almost fling his cup across the room.

“Why on earth did you buy that wretched thing?” Severus snapped as Hagrid attempted to quickly pour the water out of the charmed kettle to get it to quiet down. 

“She was a gift.” Hagrid chuckled as he put the now contentedly humming kettle back on its hook.

“Who hated you that much?” 

The tension returned to his back “An ol’ friend.” 

That was interesting. Severus shot the other man a questioning look. 

Hagrid fidgeted with his hands. Definitely interesting. Severus was sure he would dodge the question but then Hagrid harrumphed and said, “I know yeh can keep a secret.”

It took Severus a moment to realize that he was being asked a question, “Naturally,” he responded, his curiosity growing.

“I had er-” He paused blood rushing too his checks, “I had a lover ‘bout 45 years ago now and I was only 25 at the time, which yeh know is young by Giant standards-”

“Very young,” Severus said, his eyes narrowing. At Twenty-five a giant was still very much an adolescent. 

“Prob’ly. It didn’ feel that way at the time though,” He paused and Snape waited impatiently while Hagrid gathered his thoughts, “Either way, it didn’t end well but I kept the Kettle he gave me.”

Severus blinked. Few things could shock him, but Hagrid revealing a past male lover was definetly one of them. “Well,” he said dryly, “I guess that explains why it didn’t work out between you and Madame Maxine.”

Hagrid snorted, “She was too good fer the likes o’ me anyway.”

“Did Dumbledore know about him?”

Hagrid looked down and shook his head, “No, it wasn’ like that”

“What was it like then?” Severus asked, surprising himself with his own interest.

“Oh, yeh know, he was reachin’ that age some men start to get bored, wanted something more excitin’ than his pureblood wife could give him. I don’ think he knew how young I really was for a giant.”

Severus’ eyes widened in surprise, a male pureblood having a homosexual tryst with half-giant was… beyond unheard of. His mind ran through a list of possible suspects “Who?”

Hagrid’s ears turned red and he looked Severus in the eyes, “You can’t tell nobody this now, you hear?”

Severus nodded, holding his breath.

“Abraxas Malfoy,” he all but whispered.

Severus froze. Abraxas, the man who made Lucious seem downright moderate by comparison, had a fling with Hagrid? It was too perfect. Too gloriously hypocritical for Severus to even imagine.

He laughed bitterly “That adds an interesting layer to his hatred of Lucious’ friendship with a Half-breed.”

Hagrid’s eyes dropped sadly, “I can’ say I’m surprised.”

Anger rose in Severus’ throat. Abraxas was a cold, hard man. By 6th year even Lucious had hated him so much that he was plotting ways to strike his father from the family tree, posthumously of course. A highly impractical idea but one that appealed to Lucious' sense of melodrama at the time. When Narcissa got pregnant Lucious’ had been so terrified of raising Draco near his father that he moved his small family to their London house until Abraxas died two years later. 

Severus also knew that Abraxas was far too knowledgeable about magical beings for sleeping with a twenty-five year old Hagrid to be an innocent mistake. As someone who had worked with students for years their were few things he abhored more than the idea of two teenagers having sex, and one of them was the idea of a teenager and an adult having sex. A twenty-five year old half-giant and a 30 something wizard being in a relationship was far too close to the second for Snapes’s taste. 

Hagrid must have seen the stormy look on Severus’ face because he quickly added, “He wasn’ bad to me. It didn’ last long enough for that. The bastard was only cruel after I threatened to expose him.”

“Why did you?” Severus asked, surprised Hagrid would do something so underhanded.

“He wasn’ so extreme when I was with him, see.” He sighed and took a drink of his tea, “So ‘bout five years down the line when the Nobby Leach business was heatin’ up I thought I could talk some sense into him, thought I could reason with him. As yeh can guess it didn’t work.” Hagrid scowled into his cup as if Abraxas was at the bottom of it, “He told me that if I exposed our “misunderstanding”, as he called it, Dumbledore’s “misunderstandings” would be on the front page o’ the Prophet the next mornin’.”

Snape’s face twisted in anger. He could most certainly guess. He could guess how satisfied Abraxas must have felt with himself knowing exactly how to shut Hagrid up. He was the kind of man who enjoyed feeling superior to anyone for any reason. The shriveled up old spider probably thought about it every time Lucious complained about Dumbledore, relishing the memory of his victory over a half-giant. Relishing the knowledge of how guilty Hagrid must have felt after Leach wound up dead. Severus made a mental note to spit on his grave next time he visited Malfoy Manor, Lucious wouldn’t stop him. 

“Severus?” Hagrid asked nervously, snapping him out of his thoughts. Severus forced himself to unclench his jaw and rubbed a tense hand over his thigh. Finally when he felt his anger die down he looked over at Hagrid who was watching him with a look of great anxiety on his face. He seemed to be waiting for Severus to condemn him. 

“I despise that man,” Severus said through gritted teeth, “He was a spiteful, old, husk of a person. I desire to pour herbicide over his grave so that the plants that feed on his corpse will die just to prevent the possibility of his continuation in any sense of the word.” Sadly, he doubted Lucious would let him do such a thing, it would be unseemly.

Hagrid stared at him. Severus stared back. Finally, the lines in Hagrid’s face relaxed and he leaned back in his seat saying, “No desecratin’ any graves on my account.”

Severus felt the hot coil of anger inside him unwind. He took a drink of his tea and considered the ridiculousness of it all. Perhaps, if Hagrid hadn’t been so loyal to Dumbledore, Nobby Leach wouldn’t have had to resign and perhaps anti-muggleborn sentiments wouldn’t have gotten as high as they did. Perhaps Riddle wouldn’t have been able to rise the first time and . . . he would still be out there making more horcruxes. The thought sent a chill down Severus’ spine. 

Once again Hagrid interrupted his thoughts this time with a statement, “Yer turn, Professor.”

“I wasn’t aware this was an exchange,” He replied, raising an eyebrow.

Hagrid grinned, “Come on, yeh got to learn I’m gay, and about me an’ Abraxas, down right privlaged informaton! Be fair. Yeh can’ tell me yeh got no stories.”

“Your childish attempts to bait me will not work; However,” He said placing his now empty cup down, “I will provide you with one piece of information, information I expect not to leave this hut.”

Hagrid nodded and leaned forward like a student getting ready to hear new gossip. A great deal of Severus paused dramatically before saying “Homosexuality is a common trait amongst Dumbledore’s strays.”

Hagrid looked at him puzzled for a moment and vaguely offended the next, before finally a look of realization spread across his face. Then much to Severus’ indignation, he chuckled “Well, I can’ say i’m surprised.”

“Elaborate,” Severus demanded.

“I jus’ mean I had my suspicions is all.” Hagrid said, sipping his tea. Severus looked at him expectantly, Hagrid rolled his eyes, “You can’t tell me yeh’ve never been able to tell if a man is gay or not?”

Severus had to agree. He was about to ask what impatricular had clued Hagrid in about him when he happened to glance at the clock hanging on the wall of Hagrid’s hut.

“I have to go. Three delinquents are eagerly anticipating my arrival at detention right now,” He muttered as he stood and brushed off his robes. 

Hagrid grabbed Severus’ cloak from its hook and handed it to him with a grin, “You better be off then, wouldn’t want to disappoint the little ones, now would we.”

The corner of Severus' mouth twitched up, “Perish the thought.”

Wrapping his cloak around him he set out into the blustery wind enjoying the sound of leaves crunching underfoot. Before he got far though Hagrid called out to him. He turned and saw Hagrid standing nervously in his doorway. He looked at him questioningly.

“Yeh won’t tell anyone what I told yeh will yeh, Professer?” Hagrid asked.

“No more than you will tell anyone what I said, Hagrid.” 

Hagrid’s face relaxed into a smile, “See yeh, tomorrow then.”

Severus nodded in acknowledgement and turned back to the castle, his mind awhirl with thoughts of misbehaving students and the placement of his feet on the dark grounds. 

\----------

It was only later that night, as three fifth years scrubbed cauldrons and he stared down at the error riddled, ink stained excuse of a 2nd year essay completely unable to focus that he really thought about all that had been said. 

He squeezed his quill tighter as he thought about what he had admitted to Hagrid. The Old Fear creeping back into his throat. He swallowed it back down, feeling it scurry back into its hidey-hole. Even if Hagrid did tell people, he didn’t give a fuck if people knew he was gay. He wouldn’t lose his job (unlike muggles, wizards didn’t immediatly suspect a gay man of being a nonce). He didn’t have any friends to abandon him. He didn’t even need to hide it from the other Death Eaters anymore. If Hagrid thought he had ammunition against him, he would be greatly disappointed. Hagrid could tell whoever he wanted. Severus wouldn’t care. His apathy filled him with satisfaction and he smiled faintly at his mental victory over the other man’s scemes. 

Then he remembered who Hagrid was and shame soured his expression. Hagrid didn’t have a scheme. Hagrid was Hagrid and Hagrid was a good person. A blabber mouth but a good person nonetheless, and like most people like them, Hagrid probably knew how to keep from outing someone. 

Matter settled, he forced thoughts of the earlier conversation out of his mind and set out to conquer the pile of essays in front of him. If the students at the opposite end of the potions lab noticed the odd array of faces he had just displayed they chalked it up to general Snape strangeness and thought little of it. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Explanation on how Giants age in my story. Giants essentially have a prolonged adolescence that allows their larger and more powerful magical cores (comparative too wizards) to develop fully. Around the age of 30 giants reach their full maturity. 
> 
> Also, I'm not a very experienced writing so any comments and suggestions are very much appreciated!


End file.
